Ireland's Georgian heritage is now the subject of intense international interest because of its "powerful and distinct individual character," according to London-based broadcaster, historian and conservationist Dan Cruickshank.

Delivering a lecture last week at the RDS, he said protection has often proved difficult because it’s been argued that much 18th century architecture is colonial – the expression of the Anglo-Irish Protestant ascendancy.

However, Cruickshank said it was clear that adopted European classical traditions had “become native – by a strange and mysterious process of alchemy – so that things that were foreign are transformed into something that is indigenous”.

“The product of these magical marriages are wonderful – often works of art, if only by accident. They bestow pride, help define national identity, possess artistic life and have the power to inspire, to inflame the imagination,” he said.

"Such artistic creations that capture and reflect the soul of a nation should be highly regarded and protected because they were largely designed and built by the Irish for the Irish – with a distinct, strong, individual and direct set of connections to continental Europe. "

So much for those who maintain that Georgian Dublin or Limerick is a legacy of 800 years of oppression.